Sunday, January 31, 2010

Statistics in everday live

Here is a cute story on how we use statistics unconsciously throughout our live. Hopefully this story will help all of you to like statistics better and not think of it as just another class that you have to take in the university :)

Portrait of the Young Child as Researcher
By Jon'a F. Meyer
Rutgers University
As all children, I have always relied heavily on research methods in my life. Even as young child, I participated in and mastered many techniques and theories of inquiry. This brief essay describes some of my experiences in the wonderful world of research.
My parents played a strong role in my development as a researcher. As a toddler, for example, I remember Mother baking holiday cookies. The delightfully sweet scent filled the kitchen and spilled over into the playroom in which I played. I was immediately drawn to the kitchen for a closer observation of the baking process (qualitative research is sometimes preferable to more quantitative approaches, especially when the concept under study defies quantification). I quickly discerned that the aroma emanated from the big white box in the corner with the window on the front door, and proceeded to conduct more thorough research when Mother yelled "HOT!" and slapped my hand as it moved toward the oven. As soon as she looked away, however, I firmly planted my hand on the glass window and shrieked in pain. I immediately recognized that we had inter-rater reliability, that is we both agreed that the oven was hot. There was no question in my mind about the validity of her initial assessment; my burnt fingertips were proof of that.
Later that day, Father came home and initiated his favorite game, “Whasinabox.” Whasinabox was designed to develop deductive reasoning skills. He would wrap objects in brightly colored paper, sometimes enclosing them in boxes before applying the paper. The idea of the game was to ascertain the contents without first opening the package. He would often deliberately camouflage the contents to make it more difficult to determine what was in the box. We played this game every winter; he would go so far as putting the game pieces under an elaborately decorated tree to intensify the experience. I quickly learned a plethora of deductive skills, such as squeezing and shaking the packages to help me figure out what they contained. Clothing, for example, didn't make rattling noises like many toys or board games did. I also learned from what was included in other boxes of the same general shape and size. My sister, on the other hand, preferred a more inductive approach. She would carefully cut the paper, look inside, and then re-tape the paper so that it looked as pristine as when Father put it under the tree. When it came time to announce what we hypothesized was inside the package, she would always make accurate "predictions." When Father discovered her techniques, however, he angrily accused her of ex post facto hypothesizing, that is coming up with one's hypothesis after a thorough examination of one's data (the contents of the package in this case). That her "prediction" was correct did not mitigate the fact that she hadn't played the game properly by using her deductive skills and facts available outside the package in formulating her hypothesis.
The winter ceremony was also a good way to learn a bit about sampling. Father would allow us to select which one of the many boxes under the tree we would open on Christmas Eve. This was an important decision because all of the other boxes had to wait until Christmas day. I usually engaged in simple random sampling. I would arrange the boxes on the floor then use a table of random numbers to decide which I would open first. I thought this method was the best because each box had an equal chance of being selected. My sister, on the other hand, preferred to use a non-random sampling technique, purposive sampling. She always selected the largest box under the tree because it met her single criterion: big in size. To frustrate her, Father sometimes put a single piece of candy in the largest box, so that my selection method more often yielded a good sample. I told my sister if she would randomly select a box like I did, the contents of it would be more representative of the other boxes, but she insisted on her haphazard method.
Another fond research memory centered on the value of operationalization in research. I learned through experience that my parents' opinions of things often differed vastly from my own, that is that we operationalized concepts differently. Father's ideas of what constituted good ways to spend family time, for example, never included rolling in the grass and playing in the mud. Instead, he preferred more mundane activities, including attending church and long family "discussions" around the dinner table. Whenever Father would tell us how much we children would enjoy something, my instant reply would always be "and just how do you operationalize that concept, Father?" If I was lucky, I received an answer rather than a firm swat on the behind (and ironically, he always told me that the swats hurt him more than they did me leading me to wonder how he operationalized pain!).
My sister and I often engaged in rigorous hypothesis testing. We would take commonly accepted statements and attempt to test them through empirical research. One of these statements was that eating candy would make your teeth rot out. I told Mother how important it was to do research on the topic, and asked her to buy us several cases of candy; I and my sister would volunteer as subjects in this groundbreaking study. She resisted, stating that research by others had firmly established a relationship between eating candy and tooth decay. My sister and I lamented that the external validity had not been confirmed; what if the results did not apply to other samples, areas, settings, and times? To address this possibility, we needed to conduct additional replications of the experiment in a variety of settings and with a variety of research subjects. By refusing to allow us to conduct this study, she was engaging in premature closure of inquiry. She would not yield, however, so I went to a backup funding source, Grandmother. Grandmother was much more agreeable and agreed to provide us with the required materials so that the valuable research could take place.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Graduate Studies

Until now, many people still think that graduate school is not important. As long as you have a bachelor degree, you are done with school. Well, this is wrong. Your learning experience has just actually start when you finished your undergraduate studies (CSUSM President, Karen Haynes). Graduate studies are not unimportant, it actually opened up opportunities for many people.

Some myth about graduate school:

1. People usually think that they are not graduate school material. However, the fact is that all of us are graduate school material. Graduate school is not only for those people who are smart or geniuses. Everybody can go to graduate school as long as they have the passion to learn and willing to study and work hard.

2. We think that graduate studies are expensive. Yes it is expensive. Nevertheless, there are many funding out there that are available for all of you guys. Associations that promote research are giving scholarships all the time for those people who cannot pay tuition fee. All you need to do is do some research on the type of scholarship available and fill out the applications. Some school even pay for your living expenses as well as tuition fees.

3. We can only pursue graduate studies at university within our hometown or country. WRONG! We have to get out of our comfort zone. We have to think what is best for us and for our future. If there is a great school outside the country, go for it. International students do get scholarship. You don't have to be afraid of going to a different country. There are some great people out there who will help you adjust to the new place, and people adapt to their surroundings. After some time, you will be able to mingle and adjust to different life style. Also, it is always a good opportunity to visit another place and learn about different things. So, think outside the box.

4. People choose university based on the school's name. For example, going to Harvard University just because it is one of the Ivy League school. DO NOT DO THIS. You have to research the best school for the discipline you are interested in. Choose the school based on the program that are offered. Find program that best suited your needs. Sometimes, the top schools doesn't match with your value and your discipline. So, NEVER choose a school just because of its name. Some school might be nameless to many people, but that school might be really famous within certain field of study.

These are some information that you guys might want to think about if you are interested in pursuing higher education after bachelor level. If you have any question, feel free to ask me. I hope that Binsus's students and graduates will think about pursuing their education until graduate level ^^

Friday, March 20, 2009

A Silent Love

From the very Begining, the girl's family objected strongly on her dating this guy. Saying that it has got to do with family background & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.

Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrel very often. Though the girl love the guy deeply, but she always ask him: "How deep is your love for me?"

As the guy is not good with his words, this often cause the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl often vent her anger on him. As for him, he only endure it in silence.

After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies in overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl: "I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?"

The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he leave, they got engaged.

The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails & phone calls. Though it's hard, but both never thought of giving up.

One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. When she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realised that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. She has lost her voice......

The doctors says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down.

During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,.....it's still just silence cry that companied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know. & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.

With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, and countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying....

The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.

With a new environment, the girl learn sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore news of him.

A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing an invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead.

When she was about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her "I've spent a year's time to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You. With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled

p.s: please cherish your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. Even when they do not express their love regularly, they do love you.

(from www.lovingyou.com)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR all.... Let us all hope that in this new year everything will be better than the past years. We have the whole year ahead of us to enjoy and experience a lot of things. So, let's get into the spirit of new year. For all of you who read this, if you haven't make a new year resolution, MAKE ONE right now! Come on, new year won't be complete without a new year resolution. Even my dog have a new year resolution ("I will try to stop eating my master's shoes," Peanut). You guys can make any resolution you want, even if it might seems impossible. Just believe in yourself and know that there is nothing impossible if you work for it. And for girls who want to wish for a happily ever after life with their significant other, GO for it! It's never too much to wish for a happy ending.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Manado Airway's Flight Attendants Announcement

hehehe kalau torang pe kampung halaman pisah dari Indonesia kong badiri sandiri..torang musti pake bahasa kawanua toh!

Ledis en jentelmen,

Kalu rasa pidis tu mata, atau rasa bapongoh itu talinga,
isap jo itu gula2!
Baku iko deng peraturan penerbangan,
sekarang ikke musti kasi lia pa jij samua cara pake itu tali
mamudung yang ada pa jij pe pinggang, deng itu baju voor batobo, en masker oksigen kalu ngoni pe napas mulai hosa.

Supaya jij boleh selamat, coba lia koa kamari bagemana
cara pasang itu sabuk yang balingkar di jij pe pinggang,
cara kunci supaya nyanda talapas, bekeng kencang deng, bagaimana mo buka nanti.

Itu baju batobo di bawah kursi jij dudu akang, jangan dulu pake kecuali nanti waktu Om Kapten so undang batobo pa torang rame-rame. eit.. jangan lupa, itu barang jangan jij kase pindah neh, apalagi dibawa pulang vor pajangan salon atau dekorasi souvenir ruang tamu tanda jij so pernah terbang, kalu ikke riki, ikke nanti tampar kiri kanang, muka belakang, deng atas bawah, mangarti?

De pe cara pake , itu baju kase lingkar di leher jij, awas jang talalu kencang komang, nanti jij susa banapas, boleh flau,
kong bekeng tasibu pa torang musti bekeng pernapasan tiup ngoni pe mulu, idiiih, jadi ati-ati jo, neh! Supaya boleh timbul di air, hela itu knop warna merah jambu bol, atau bole juga tiup de pe pipa, supaya boleh timbul di air. Kong inga musti tunggu sampe so kaluar dari jandela darurat, baru boleh bekeng dia tabuka, dari kalu nyanda ngoni nanti ta prop di itu jandela atau pintu, bekeng pusing pa torang, kong boleh sampe kriting tong pe tangan nanti mo bahela pa ngoni macet di pintu, komang. Oh yaa, amper lupa itu floit boleh ngoni pake baramaeng prit-pritan supaya jangan fastiu kalu so batobo
di air.

Eh, asal jij samua tau ya, ini pesawat ada dua de pe pintu darurat di muka ada dua, ada dua di belakang, deng ada dua lagi jendela darurat di tengah-tengah. Jadi waktu kaluar nanti nyanda perlu baku rebe rupa burung camar baku rampas roti di pante waktu ada bapiknik, musti holopis rupa bebe atau bifi babaris bagitu, alias antri satu lein.

Kalu nanti tiba-tiba napas hosa bukang lantaran itu rim di pinggangtalalu kancang, atau lantaran salah pasang itu baju batobo, maskeroksigen akan ciri dari atas kepala jij, no hela jo padia kong pasang
diidong en banapas rupa biasa. Kalu ada anak kacili, jij yang so lebe tuwer tolong kase pake pa anak dulu baru pake sandiri, oops so salah, tabubale komaling, musti jij dulu pasang baru kase pasang pa itu kodomo zeg!

Kartu gambar petunjuk vor keselamatan ada di popoji kursi di mukadimana jij ada duduk, jangan ambe birman punya, jang ngoni baku cakar komang, deng baca bae-bae kong hafal mati pa dia.

Noh, bagitu jo dulu, broer deng zus!

(I think this is from Media Indonesia)